Issue 4 • July 17, 2024

Cost-free Conference 📺

The Cypress-Fairbanks ISD EdTech Department hosts one of the best free virtual conferences every summer. The Digital Learning Conference has dozens of live sessions streamed on YouTube July 24 & July 25, 2024.

I’m presenting three 50 minute sessions on Wednesday, July 24th:

• 8 AM CT: Bravo! Edit Video Like a Pro with Canva

• 9 AM CT: Animated Learning with Google Slides

• 10 AM CT: Tasty Lesson Hooks

Share Settings Shift ⚙️

If you log into Canva, you’ll see this warning message:

⚠ After July 31 2024, some of your frequently accessed View-Only, Template and Website links will no longer work, unless you choose to keep them accessible.

Canva is giving us very short notice. Luckily, it’s a quick process to keep your share links accessible. Follow this link to see if any of your shared designs need to be updated. If you have designs listed, select them and click the Keep Designs Accessible button.

If you do nothing, then your share links will be set to private and you’ll have to create new share links if you want to continue publicly sharing them.

Mindset Manual 📘

Trevor Muir and John Spencer’s new book is now available. They sent me and advance copy of New Teacher Mindset and asked me to write an endorsement.

It’s delightful to see my name on the back cover. 😊

I wrote more than what would fit on back cover:

Filled with relatable stories, honest reflections, and practical advice, you get to learn through Trevor’s and John's challenges and triumphs. Whether you're a new or seasoned educator, this book will leave you feeling motivated and equipped to make a lasting impact.

From building healthy classroom dynamics to effective lesson planning and technology integration, New Teacher Mindset covers every aspect of teaching with a refreshing, reflective approach.

Don’t read this book just once. Take it off the shelf periodically for its practical advice, clever ideas, and important reminders.

(The link to the book is an Amazon Affiliate link. If you make a purchase, I am paid a small commission.)

Groovy Games 👾

Educaplay is an educational activities generator. It allows teachers to create a variety of games for their students. Activities include matching, crossword, and memory games.

Teachers need to create an account before they can author a game. Activities can be shared as a web link or accessed with a game pin. Students do not need accounts.

Ray is the name of Educaplay’s A.I. assistant. Ray can create game content based on the title you give it.

Upgrade to Educaplay Premium for $57/year to use Ray an unlimited number of times, remove ads, insert activities directly into Google Classrooms/Teams/Canvas, monitor student progress, and make your activities private.

Charge Checkup ⚡️

Is your laptop, tablet, or phone charging as fast as it could be? This little USB-C meter (~$10 for 2) attaches to the end of your power cable. When plugged into a device, it displays the charging speed in watts.

Knowing the charging speed can help you verify if a cable or charger is delivering the amount of power you expect. You can also glance at the number to know if it’s done charging (when the number drops below a few watts).

I’ve been using USB-C power meters for several months. It’s been interesting and helpful to see how my devices charge.

(The link to the power meter is an Amazon Affiliate link. If you make a purchase, I am paid a small commission.)

App Arrangement 📲

Want to fit more items in your iPhone or iPad's dock? Add a folder to it. The folder can contain multiple apps.

To create a folder:

1. Touch and hold an app's icon until it starts to wiggle.

2. Tap Edit Home Screen.

3. Drag one app onto another to create a folder.

4. Drag the newly created folder into the dock.

Note: On iPhone, you can only have 4 icons in the dock, so you may need to remove one to make room for the folder.

Image Imitation 📷

Twin Pics posts an AI-generated picture daily. Your goal is to write a prompt that matches the picture as closely as possible. The closer your prompt matches the image, the higher your score.

This exercise provides great practice for understanding phrasing and focusing on key details, helping you sharpen your AI image prompting skills.

Smiles from Iowa,

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